Rega Planar 3: A Revolutionary Vinyl Spinner for Mike and David

This episode sees Mike and David paying homage to the Rega Planar 3, a stalwart of the British hi-fi scene – and a seminal 'affordable audiophile' turntable.

The guys have each owned several examples of this classic vinyl spinner in the past, so are well placed to judge this very latest version. It's fair to say that, after all these years, they still love it – and reckon it's better than ever.

Each episode of Hi-Fi Riff features the guys' unedited, unexpurgated views about all manner of weird and wonderful hi-fi designs. Mike has a wealth of knowledge from his hi-fi retail years, and David has written about hi-fi for thirty years. Now Editor-in-Chief of StereoNET, he's picked up a few things along the way.

So brew up a cuppa or crack open a can, and relax and enjoy some one-take hi-fi riffing – and please leave your comments below. Oh, and don’t forget to hit the Subscribe button, this one goes up to eleven!

The eighties-tastic title tune is called ‘UFO/Mike’s Jumper’, and used with the express permission of our old pal and rights holder Simon Lythe.

[ENGLISHISBEST]

Had my rega 3 about 2 years now, I have always had vinyl since the mid 70's & approching retirement It was a treat to myself with no regrets with this rega.

[finmac]

Just to say how happy I am to hear this review as I have just placed an order for a P3 50th Anniversary edition…..cannot wait to hear it!

[swiss]

I think im going to pre order the rega planar 3 50th anniversary after watching this 😊

[jazzonlp]

Nice love in on the Planar 3, thanks.

[NigeSavage]

White Rega Planar 3 owner here, just discovered your channel and love it (and subscribed!). I recently upgraded the cartridge to the Exact and also now pairing it with the Rega Neo power supply, and it sounds insanely good. I can't imagine what will persuade me to part company with it (famous last words, but anyway!). Kudos to you guys, looking forward to what's coming next 👍

[gezparks]

I had a Rega Planar 3, NAD 3020A and Heybrook HB1 loudspeakers back in the late 80's. Beautiful music. My jaw dropped at the improvement a Sound Organisation table made under the Rega. Really shows how important this is to performance.

[markkinsman]

Had a 1983 Rega P3 with Linn Basil LV arm for many years. Upgraded to the Rega P6 a few years ago with RB330 arm and Ania MC cartridge. Love it! My end game turntable.

[warrenraye]

Great stuff guys, keep these videos coming, love the banter and anecdotes between you!

[boardwalk]

Saving to upgrade from Rega P1 to the P3. Bought the P1 a little before quarantine, best investment ever without even knowing. Can't wait to discover what the upgrade will bring to the sound.

[michaelbuchan]

Used to own a RP3 with the RB300 years ago sat on the rega wall mount. It was paired up with Myst tma3 and a pair of linn index plus. A very good budget system. Changed the planner 3 for a Manticore Mantra a few years later.

[martinscase]

What a joy this channel is for a British 50 something audiophile! I bought a Planar 3 in 1987 from AudioT Bristol, replacing a Thorens td150 (little did I know that deck's potential).
On playing it at home I was so disappointed - it sounded flat, un-dynamic and boring! I soon found that the heavy shelf I'd plonked it on was to blame, and much home-made sub-table tweakery ensued which utterly transformed its sound. I never felt it truly bettered the Thorens though, which I still use today, but it could sound quite magical with careful placement.

[ttownscott]

I bought a Planar 3 with a 1979 motor and no tonearm but found a nice RB200 tonearm used and installed the 24volt moter and it's as good as gold. In fact it's now more speed accurate than the P6 in my main system. Love that both you can skip the tweaking and just listen.

[martinjn]

Another white Planar 3 owner, paired up with a Neo power supply, looking to improve the sound so planing on a new cartridge (Goldring 1042 or Ortofon 2M Black - dealers suggestions over the Exact), currently fed via a Rega Fono to a Hegel H95 and then out to some nice little ATC SMC 7's, only have a small listening room but this set-up works rather well. Contemplating a big TT upgrade in 2024 but to what remains to be seen. Great video, loving the nice laid back chat style videos, now a happy subscriber. Thanks Guys.

[charlescheese]

Wow, top score. It would be nice to see a video with recommended integrated and pair of stand mounts to go with it.

[dell]

I've had the RP3 for about 7 years now and been very happy with it. I's sitting on a welded steel rescord stand i bought from Amazon for very little money. That stand has adjustable levelers on it's feet and is very stiff when set up. I have a 3" thick maple chopping block under the TT (sits on the 1/2" thick cheap ass shelf that stand ships with) with sorbethane hemispheres between the stock rubber feet and that maple block and the combination works very well when it comes to isolation. I'm using an old Vinyl to Analog converter phono preamp I've had for a couple of decades and that feeds my Rogue TP5 preamp (it's included phono stage is to dark for my tastes. i also have a LaPacifica DIY preamp I use for moving coill carts (have to get my Denon 301MkII retipped).

[garys]

Hi guys just came across you. great chat and insight to rp3. was getting the 50th anniversary just before xmas there with good discount for exact cartridge and Neo power, but missed out. but quite glad because it was walnut your gloss white has blown my mind ....looks absolutely FAB....so coming in a couple of months. keep up the good work. cracking channel. nice n easy style. 👍👍

[tonyjedioftheforest]

Swapped mine for a Pink Triangle back in the early 80’s and got the full price I paid for it from the dealer. The PT sounded fantastic for a couple of months then started to play slow. It was the most unreliable piece of junk that I have bought. I ended up buying a See Revolver to use when it was away being repaired and this deck sounded better than both, especially when I took the Ittok and K9 off the PT and used those. I still use this set up today nearly 40 years later as a second deck with the ATVM95C stylus to play second hand records alongside my LP12.

[titntin]

Thanks guys, another interesting chat!
I've plenty of time for the old Rega - although I jumped into the Roksan Xerxes at the time, I paired this with an RB300 arm which was a hi-fi bargain! Its probably still got my old AT OC7 moving coil attached, but its been dumped in my loft for the last 20 years, so who knows what state its in!
I literally have just set up a new turntable as I'm finally selling my LP's and needed to capture some music from LP which has never had a digital release - or is so rare it costs more than I want! I've just set up a Sony HX500 (put it on an isoaccoustics platform) and I put a nagaoka mp-110 cart on it as I wanted to capture a DSD stream and I heard the Sony produces a really competent digital output for the price. I'm still breaking in the cartridge, and wont do final captures till its had at least 30 hours play time, but I'm staggered at the quality I'm managing to achieve with this modest set up. I think there might be something in this 'DSD sounds analouge' sentiment :) My initial test capture of an old Kraan LP, sounds better than a fantastic remastered version on CD when played back through the Auralic G1 I'm using as a front end. Frankly I'm shocked, the cart has not run in and I thought I was doing this on the cheap and would get according results! Just goes to show, you can play in this area for more than 40 years and still get surprised!

Thank you for bringing us this content, I do enjoy to hear you guy's and your thoughts on this equipment!

[domo]

I remember selling these back in the day over 30yrs ago & the Planar 3 holds its own today. In our dealership the next step up from a P3 would have been a Manticore Mantra/RB300/ATF5. I have an LP12/EKOS/Karma in my set up, and if my house burnt down, would I replace the Linn with a Rega Planar 3 plus a reasonably priced MC? Very possibly. Big Bang for your buck with a deck like this, and the law of diminishing returns kicks in when spending more. Does what it says on the tin.

My cousin (also a pro musician) asked me for a bit of advice for his first 'proper' turntable to rediscover his substantial vinyl collection and I just immediately said "Rega Planar 3". His budget meant he chose the P1 instead (still a decent deck) but I wonder if he'll be hankering after a P3 in the future. Does anyone really need anything more in a deck than this in all honesty?

[boscome]

I bought one a couple years ago with Exact2 cartridge and got the upgraded power supply. Thought it sounded really good yet....so about 10 days ago I bought a Linn LP12 Majik with Koil cartridge. The Rega P3 is a boat anchor compared to the Linn. Of course the Linn is much more money so what do you expect.